When Powerful Women in the World Unite!

   "What young entrepreneur would not want the opportunity to mingle with giants in the business?" asks Madiha Sultan, CEO of Lals Chocolates, a luxury chocolate business based in Karachi, Pakistan which she founded with her mother in 2006. Her company has retail outlets in Karachi and Lahore and has developed a successful corporate gift program for holidays.  Madiha was one of 26 women selected earlier this year to participate in the Fortune/U.S. State Department Global Women's Mentoring Partnership. 

     Madiha's mentor was Kathleen Vaughan, Executive Vice President  for  Wells Fargo Wholesale Mortgage Division, who says one of her motivations in signing up to mentor global women is to show them "the most important factor is not 'me' but the village in which we work, which then becomes a confidence booster. I want these women to see what is possible by meeting with many successful women who manage risk and make tough decisions. Madiha very much wants to be a free woman charting her own destiny in a culture that makes it difficult; we're here to show her options." 

Guest Post:: When Social Media Is NOT the Answer!

 

Starting her career as a CPA with Deloitte, marketing guru Cathy Eckstein has had 25 years of strategic planning and marketing experience with organizations ranging from startups to global Fortune 500 companies; she has worked  across a variety of industries, including technology, energy, consumer goods/services, retailing and not-for-profits, including such  brands as Kellogg and Clorox. Most recently, Cathy was Chief Marketing Officer of Insight Enterprises, a global company providing technology solutions to businesses and public sector organizations.  She drove development and implementation of the company’s first five-year strategic plan, which, resulted in expansion from three countries to a presence throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, leading to  revenue growth of 60% over three years.   Cathy also served as  Senior Vice President, Marketing at Ingram Micro, a $30 billion distributor of technology equipment and solutions Earlier this spring, Cathy founded Cornerstone CMO, based in Tuscon, Arizona,  to provide project-based strategic marketing to businesses.  Here are her views on social media:

Social Media: Not for Everyone!

These days most business leaders  feel “guilted” into developing a multi-faceted social media strategy, even though it’s not the answer for all of them. Of course, social media can be a very important component of a brand or company marketing plan.  However, like all elements of a plan, social media must be evaluated for its ability to contribute to overall goals and objectives.  In many cases it is not the most effective choice.